YouSaid · the spoken record

Niehaus

lines on the record: 161
first: 1998-06-06
most recent: 2002-06-27
sittings or episodes: 21
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Mr. Niehaus (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): Mr. President, may I first of all congratulate you and, through you, the Republic of Bangladesh on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of June. We are aware of and grateful for the leadership that your delegation, under the direction of Ambassador Chowdhury, has been exercising in the defence of the interests and the positions of the developing countries within this important body. I also want to thank the Secretary-General for his valuable report on the prevention of armed conflict. We also appreciate the introduction provided to us this morning by the Deputy Secretary-General. We trust that this report will be the subject of a broad discussion in each of the organs of the United Nations.”
2001-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4334Resumption1 (2001) · source
“We trust that that meeting will provide a new impetus to the fight against this disease. Finally, I should like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and wish him every success. I can assure him that his innovative approach, character and special style will not be forgotten in this Chamber.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259Resumption1 (2001) · source
“We trust that the troop-contributing countries, as well as the Secretariat, will take the appropriate disciplinary and health measures to prevent such situations from occurring. Because of the judicious division of powers and functions that the founders of the United Nations incorporated into the Charter, the Security Council's competency in the area of AIDS and the HIV Virus is severely limited. It is for the General Assembly to study and coordinate, in a comprehensive manner, efforts to combat this epidemic. It is for the Economic and Social Council to assess and deal with the social and developmental effects of the disease. That is why my delegation is looking with keen interest to the special session of the General Assembly on AIDS, which will be held in June this year.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Considering the problem of AIDS in relation to United Nations peacekeeping personnel, the Security Council is faced with a worrisome problem. Could it be that some United Nations personnel are carriers of the HIV virus and thus, through their behaviour, endanger the health of civilians in the field? That would be unacceptable. Could it be that United Nations personnel are at risk of contracting the HIV virus by engaging in risky practices with the civilian population? That situation would be equally unacceptable. My delegation trusts that such situations will not arise. The behaviour of United Nations personnel should always be beyond reproach. We cannot allow United Nations personnel to have casual relations with the local population, putting civilians and themselves at risk of infection.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259Resumption1 (2001) · source
“We must promote social standards and values that encourage responsible behaviour and the rejection of the use of intravenous drugs as well as of casual and risky sexual relations. A comprehensive strategy to deal with the scourge of AIDS requires, in addition to the adoption of health programmes to provide medical and psychological assistance to the sick and those who are infected, as well as programmes to meet the basic needs of vulnerable orphans and elderly people. The human aspect of the crisis is enormous, and requires extensive political and financial investment in programmes designed to assist the neediest populations. At the same time, we must guarantee that the best medicines are readily accessible to the ill in developing countries.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259Resumption1 (2001) · source
“We also cannot forget the more than 2 million persons who suffer from this infection in Latin America and the Caribbean. My continent has also been a victim of the devastating effects of the epidemic, on both the personal and the social levels. Controlling this disease requires firm and clear measures. High-risk behaviours should be avoided at all costs. Although in some extreme cases measures such as distributing hypodermic needles and condoms can be taken to reduce the level of risk, those measures are not enough; they inevitably entail a margin of error and their success is dependant on careful and continuous use. Reducing risk is not enough; it must be eliminated. A long-term AIDS prevention strategy must promote the widespread adoption of safe practices.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259Resumption1 (2001) · source
“The AIDS epidemic has become a catastrophe of vast proportions. As we have heard, today over 36 million people live with the HIV Virus, while over 3 million persons died of AIDS in the year 2000. The crisis is most acute in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 25.3 million people in Africa carry the HIV virus, in a continent which is home to 70 per cent of the world's adult HIV infections and 80 per cent of child infections. Africa is also home to the majority of both children made orphans and older persons made destitute by the disease. Although the human and social effects of AIDS in Africa are incalculable, the economic effects are, on the other hand, horribly clear. The epidemic will dramatically reduce the annual economic growth of sub-Saharan countries, and it is estimated that by 2010 those losses will exceed $22 billion.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Mr. Niehaus (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): Allow me, first of all, to congratulate you, Mr. President, and, through you Singapore, for your well-deserved election to the Security Council. We are convinced that your country will faithfully represent in this body the interests of the smallest members of the international community. I would also like to congratulate the representatives of Ireland, Colombia, Norway and Mauritius on their joining the Council. It is now for them to be standard bearers for the interests and will of the other members of the Organization so as to make this body a more effective, democratic and legitimate organ. I would also like to thank the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Dr. Peter Piot, for the briefing he made at the beginning of the meeting.”
2001-01-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4259Resumption1 (2001) · source
“In particular, we believe that it is necessary to give greater help to the families of demobilized children so that they have an emotional support network and a structure of ethical and moral values that will enable them to become constructive members of their communities. In short, we call for a society where families take precedence - not barracks. Finally, we cannot ignore the economic aspect of peace processes. The reintegration of combatants requires the establishment of employment opportunities and development. If no alternatives are offered to war and crime as economic activities, then military personnel will not have a real incentives to demobilize. Extreme poverty, hunger and discrimination are often sources of hatred and violence.”
2000-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4118Resumption1 (2000) · source
“We believe that the participation of minors under the age of 18 in armed conflicts, be they combatants or support staff for armed forces, is in all circumstances unacceptable. Children are the first and the most defenceless victims of war. All Governments need to demobilize those minors immediately, whether they are members of the armed forces or support staff. Similarly, Governments must actively promote the reintegration of boys and girls who have been demobilized from opposition armed forces. It is essential to provide psychological and social help to these children in order to enable them to make a full physical and emotional recovery and to be reintegrated into society.”
2000-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4118Resumption1 (2000) · source
“In addition, while peacekeeping operations can and must provide valuable support to the tasks of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, Governments and groups involved in the conflicts must assume the primary responsibility. Political and military leaders of the warring parties must show their commitment to peace by taking concrete measures to demobilize and disband their military contingents. If these tasks are carried out simultaneously on both sides, they will help reduce tension, promote stability and build confidence. My delegation is particularly pleased to welcome the emphasis placed in the report on the plight of children. It is alarming that 300,000 boys and girls are now taking part in armed conflicts.”
2000-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4118Resumption1 (2000) · source
“The stockpiling of arms and ammunition is a real obstacle to peace processes and a direct threat to all countries neighbouring a conflict zone. Costa Rica calls for the destruction of these weapons and a ban on the transfer of weapons to anyone who does not comply with a set of strict international standards of conduct. In this regard, my Government firmly supports the draft international code of conduct on arms transfers, prepared by the former President of Costa Rica, Mr. Oscar Arias Sanchez, and endorsed by 19 other Nobel Peace Prize laureates, both individuals and institutions. At the request of my delegation, this draft code of conduct has been distributed in document S/2000/ 146.”
2000-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4118Resumption1 (2000) · source
“On the one hand, we have seen the achievements of the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL) and the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA). Unquestionably, these missions were key actors in restoring normalcy and peace to those societies. On the other hand, in Central America we have also witnessed failed processes of demobilization and disarmament. We have seen cycles of revolutionary and counter-revolutionary groups that continue to cause suffering for innocent people. We have also seen the overabundant supply of weapons that, at the end of an armed conflict, like an epidemic, infects neighbouring countries with violence, crime and destruction. In Costa Rica we are well aware of the vital need to disarm combatants and to destroy their weapons.”
2000-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4118Resumption1 (2000) · source
“In short, peace can exist only to the extent that we all recognize that, as human beings, we are part of the same family. This goal is not easy to attain. Normalizing human and international relations after armed conflict phase is an arduous undertaking. A ceasefire does not halt the dynamic of Violence; hatred and the lust for vengeance still remain. The temptation to use weapons and military contingents remains latent. The logic of violence and military strategy persists. Unless the combatants are disarmed and demobilized, the prospects of peace will be darkened by the ever-present threat of the resumption of hostilities and violent crime. In Central America we have witnessed first-hand the importance of the tasks of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.”
2000-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4118Resumption1 (2000) · source
“Mr. Niehaus (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): I wish at the outset to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council and to thank you for convening this meeting. Peace is not merely the absence of armed conflict; peace is harmony among the various sectors of society, equitable relations among individuals and peoples, and the rejection of Violence and hatred in human relations. War often leads to other wars. Armed conflicts fuel deep-rooted hatreds and provoke reprisals. Armed violence is an ongoing offence against the dignity and the rights of individuals. Genuine peace requires the commitment of all, ex-combatants and civilians alike, in the task of rebuilding and restoring normalcy to society. Peace requires active brotherhood among all men.”
2000-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4118Resumption1 (2000) · source
“We must build a society where dialogue prevails over weapons, a society in which families take precedence over military barricades, a society in which armies are superfluous and in which State investment is devoted to education, health and culture. Today we need coordinated action by the international community to adopt effective measures to resolve the situation of children in armed conflict. In this context, we attach particular importance to the work carried out by the Secretary-General and especially by his Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Mr. Olara Otunnu. Costa Rica trusts that the necessary will to achieve this end will continue to be expressed through action taken both by the Security Council and by the rest of the international community.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“As long as armed conflict exists, there will be orphans, as well as displaced, maimed and murdered children. As long as there are wars, schools, hospitals, roads and families will be destroyed. As long as there is armed conflict, it will be impossible to ensure the full development of minors into worthy, productive and creative persons; it will be impossible to ensure minimal conditions for the development of the human being. The real way of solving the problem of the adverse effect of armed conflict on minors is by eliminating such conflicts. The international community must create a real culture of peace in which political, economic and social differences are resolved by peaceful and democratic means.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“We must ensure that those regimes include measures that will minimize their harmful effects on minors. Any peacekeeping operation must also have a humanitarian component that is specially trained to deal with the problems of minors. Moreover, intensive efforts are necessary to provide humanitarian assistance to minors during armed conflicts, as this is a particularly vulnerable sector of the population. To sum up, in order to ensure minimal conditions for minors in situations of armed conflict, it is necessary to ensure full compliance with the provisions of international humanitarian law and human rights. This, however, is merely the first step. We must acknowledge that as long as war exists, it will be impossible to free minors from its harmful consequences.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“We must ensure that indiscriminate methods or practices of warfare must be prohibited. Any attack targeting the civilian population is unjustified, immoral and clearly prohibited by international humanitarian law. Similarly, the use of weapons with indiscriminate or long- lasting effects must be eliminated. We are particularly pleased to note the rapid entry into force of the Convention on the prohibition of anti-personnel landmines, which have killed so many people in Central America. However, further efforts must be urgently made to deactivate the anti-personnel mines still on the ground. In the context of the work of the Security Council, studies must be conducted on possible impacts on the vulnerable population, especially on children, before any sanctions regime is adopted.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“All parties to a conflict must provide captured minors the best possible conditions with a View to ensuring their speedy rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Internationally, we must urgently adopt the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989, as is currently being discussed in the Working Group of the Commission on Human Rights, which would declare 18 years as the minimum age for recruitment into armed forces. Members of the Security Council who here in New York lament the effects of armed conflicts on minors bear a particular responsibility in this connection and must show leadership and commitment by supporting this proposal in Geneva. It is also necessary to adopt additional measures to prevent children from becoming victims of armed conflicts.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“Government authorities must impose penal sanctions on those who use, recruit or promote the participation of minors in armed conflict and must guarantee that minors in military schools will not be considered or used as part of their armed forces. With regard to internal armed conflicts, it is indispensable for the international community to declare unacceptable the use of minors in armed forces opposing the Government. All States and groups with influence on such forces must pressure them so that they will refrain from recruiting minors and will demobilize the minors who already participate in their armed forces or support staff. Governments must promote the social reintegration of minors demobilized from the armed forces and provide them the necessary social and psychological assistance.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“For this purpose, it must be universally declared that the participation of those under 18 years of age in armed conflict as combatants or as support staff for the armed forces is unacceptable. All States must commit themselves to refraining from recruiting minors. In this connection, appropriate and effective procedures must be adopted to check the age of recruits and support staff. Governments must demobilize the minors that are already in their armed forces or their support staff and must give them psychological and social assistance so as to enable them to be fully and completely rehabilitated and reincorporated into society.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“While these figures are alarming, there can be no doubt that in the past year they have only increased. But the figures still hide the reality. It is impossible to express the profound fear of the children who flee the flames and the bombs. It is impossible to describe the terror of children when they see their parents murdered. Is it possible to imagine the pain of 4 million handicapped children? Is it possible to grasp the dreams, hopes and promise of 2 million murdered children? Is it possible to measure so much sadness and so much happiness lost? Children are the first victims of wars and the most defenceless. The time for action has come. First of all, we must at all costs avoid the participation of minors in armed conflicts.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“Mr. Niehaus (Costa Rica) (spoke in Spanish): May I first of all, Mr. Minister, congratulate you most sincerely and wish you success in your work as President of the Security Council and as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Namibia. For the United Nations and for the international community in general it is a cause for particular satisfaction to see you in such a lofty and important position. A year ago, Ms. Graca Machel, then the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to study the impact of armed conflict on children, reported to us that recently more than a quarter million children had participated as combatants in approximately 30 armed conflicts. More than 2 million children died in those wars, more than 4 million were handicapped, more than 1 million were orphaned and approximately 12 million lost their homes.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source
“That is why, in addition to what has been proposed in the international sphere, we need an appropriate legal framework at the domestic level, within each of our societies and each of our States, as well as clear and effective social action to make it possible for the children of today to exercise their right to be the men and women of the future, to protect their right to become adults who are in charge of their own development and who can thereby contribute to the development of humankind and, in their own valuable way, to the building of a better world of peace, justice and liberty.”
1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980 (1999) · source
“The time has come for our words and our thoughts today, which are directed towards the effective protection of civilians in armed conflicts - especially children - to be supported by concrete action on the part of the international community. In spite of my comments, we must point out that although international legislation is of enormous importance in resolving this problem of the involvement of civilians, especially children, in armed conflicts, such legislation in itself is not enough to prevent the situations that put those civilians, particularly children, at risk.”
1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980 (1999) · source
“In this context, my delegation fully supports the establishment, as soon as possible, of an additional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and we welcome the intention explicitly to incorporate in the rules of the International Criminal Court the principle that a child is a minor until the age of 18. That is a small contribution that the States Members of the Organization can make to humankind. This Organization, which represents the greatest hope of the human race for survival in the twenty-first century, must move from words to deeds. This is the moment when history calls for our intervention: our clear, firm and vigorous action in defence of innocent human beings.”
1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980 (1999) · source
“It is imperative that we take effective international action in defence of those young creatures, who represent the future of humanity and whom we are allowing to be killed or, at best, whose innocent lives we are exposing to treatment as objects of hatred and violence. First of all, it is essential to see the problem for what it is and with full awareness of the fact that the involvement of children in armed conflict constitutes a violation of human rights and that therefore those responsible must be punished. Costa Rica considers it essential and urgent to enact international legislation clearly prohibiting the recruitment of children under the age of 18 by forces involved in a conflict.”
1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980 (1999) · source
“It is disturbing to know that that reality is dominated by an indiscriminate struggle for power, in which there is a profound absence of ethical values and anything is allowed. International society is the constant witness to the new modalities of war in which the distinction between civilians and combatants has disappeared. Children, as well as women and the elderly, have become legitimate pawns in the harsh battle for power, fought to attain supposed "ideals". Children, women and the elderly are innocent victims who deserve and demand vigorous international protection. However, as children are the most vulnerable, my country believes that we must first and foremost focus our efforts on their protection and defence.”
1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980 (1999) · source
“Those statistics are a reflection of one of the cruellest realities of our day and of the regrettable impact of conflict on millions of children throughout the world, who unjustly lose their innocence in conflicts that they are not even capable of understanding, much less explaining, and about which all they can do is cry. The most tragic aspect of these events is well expressed in paragraph 16 of document A/53/482, prepared by Mr. Olara Otunnu and submitted to the Third Committee in October last year, which states: "Cessation of hostilities does not mean that war is over, particularly for children who have been extensively exposed to the culture of violence." Unfortunately, it is also possible that, when they grow up, those children will repeat their present reality.”
1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980 (1999) · source
“We constantly see how innocent civilians are dragged into violence that is not of their making and from which they - innocent human beings who have nothing to do with the conflict - also suffer, whether they are men, women, the elderly or children. As we said several months ago in this very forum, when we were non-permanent members of the Security Council, we are particularly disturbed by information provided by the United Nations regarding the tragic reality of children in armed conflict. In recent years, over a quarter of a million children in the world have participated in 30 armed conflicts. Some 2 million children have died in those wars, which have left between 4 million and 5 million children disabled, 12 million homeless and 1 million orphaned.”
1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980 (1999) · source
“We were witnesses to the separation of families and the death of civilians, especially women, the elderly and children, dragged by harsh reality into armed conflicts that they had simply and unwittingly inherited. That is a reality that hurts us to the core, and it confers a moral responsibility upon the whole of international society, particularly when the victims of those conflicts have silently appealed for intervention and international action in defence of their innocent lives. Undoubtedly, history will demand an explanation for our passivity in the face of events. The international community knows only too well the tragedy experienced by civilian populations in the context of armed conflict.”
1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980 (1999) · source
“As we know full well, current armed conflicts almost always reflect historical accumulations of unsatisfied demands, in most cases aggravated by inadequate social and economic situations and by international political and economic conditions. In other words, they constitute responses to internal and international injustices. War is in itself an injustice, an unlawful injustice to which, in many cases, we can only be witnesses - indignant witnesses, but incapable of intervening in the course of events. Central America has been no exception in this world traumatized by violence. In recent years, the Central American isthmus itself suffered the scourge of war. We Costa Ricans, being Central Americans, were pained by the bloody battles in which so many of our brothers and sisters struggled.”
1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980 (1999) · source
“Mr. Niehaus (Costa Rica) (interpretation from Spanish): May I first of all congratulate you, Sir, on having assumed the presidency of the Security Council. I would like to begin by expressing thanks to the President for having convened this meeting, thus addressing one of the issues of greatest interest to the peoples of the world who wish, like the Costa Rican people, to become active promoters of peace. I also take this opportunity to express my delegation's complete support for the initiatives being taken by the United Nations under the leadership of the Secretary- General in order to prevent and alleviate the regrettable impact of armed conflicts on civilian populations, especially on women and children, who, as has become clear, are the most vulnerable sector of the population.”
1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980 (1999) · source
“We also understand that, in the light of these circumstances, it may be very difficult and perhaps even untimely for the Government to take concrete steps to move in that direction. Our own national experience has shown us and convinced us of the opportunities presented for small, developing countries by the demilitarization of society. This is why we would like to draw attention to this issue and express our hope that Sierra Leone will be able to make progress towards that goal in the future.”
1998-12-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3957 (1998) · source
“Mr. Niehaus (Costa Rica) (interpretation from Spanish): My delegation would like to thank Ambassador Dahlgren and Under-Secretary-General Miyet for the very timely and important information they have given us on Sierra Leone. We would also like to thank you, Mr. President, for taking the wise decision of continuing this practice of open briefings, which is essential for the transparency of the work of the Council and which we believe should be followed in the future. During his visit to the United Nations a few months ago, President Kabbah said that he was giving particular attention to the idea of demilitarizing the country and putting it under civil control. Costa Rica understands that the security situation in Sierra Leone is very complex as a result of the activities of the rebels who carried out the coup d'e'tat.”
1998-12-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3957 (1998) · source
“Hence, Costa Rica forcefully and vigorously appeals to Iraq to put an end, once and for all and unconditionally, to its provocative actions, to fulfil its obligations without delay in conformity with the terms set by the Security Council, and to bring its conduct into line with what it has undertaken to do and with its promises to the international community. Costa Rica today appeals to all parties concerned to do everything in their power to make possible, through intensive recourse to the law and to diplomacy, a peaceful solution to the present crisis.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3955 (1998) · source
“Nonetheless, Costa Rica wishes to say that over these two years it has witnessed with frustration the Iraqi Government policy of defying and ignoring international obligations. That dangerous conduct by the Iraqi authorities has undermined full implementation of Security Council resolutions on the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction in the possession of Iraq, has sapped international trust in Iraq's good word, has profoundly harmed the living conditions of the country's civilian population, and has driven Iraq's relations with the international community into a dead end.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3955 (1998) · source
“Moreover, Costa Rica in that same capacity has reaffirmed that recourse to the use of force envisaged as an exceptional measure in Chapter VII, Article 42, of the Charter falls within the sole and exclusive purview of the Security Council, and that only this principal organ of the United Nations can authorize collective action of that kind. In that context, Costa Rica learned with great and profound disquiet of the air strikes carried out today by the United States of America and the United Kingdom against military installations in Baghdad, Iraq. Given those events, Costa Rica reaffirms its long-standing position rejecting the unilateral use of force and insisting on adherence to international legal instruments.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3955 (1998) · source
“Mr. Niehaus (Costa Rica) (interpretation from Spanish): As a small, peaceful, democratic and demilitarized country, Costa Rica has maintained and continues unswervingly to maintain an international policy based on the principle of the rejection of the use of force in relations among States. This long-standing policy is grounded in our own national experience and in the firm conviction that international law is the sole proper and legitimate instrument for addressing and resolving disputes among States. Over the past two years, Costa Rica, as an elected member of the Security Council, has applied that policy of principle by actively supporting the use in all cases, as a matter of first priority, of the means for the pacific settlement of disputes provided for in Article 33 of the Charter.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3955 (1998) · source
“If we want to guarantee the effectiveness of our work in keeping with our Charter obligations, and if we are truly committed to meeting today's great challenges in order to ensure a peaceful and secure world for all, we must be able to find correct, appropriate and effective answers.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3954 (1998) · source
“These include political watchfulness, the preparation and monitoring of elections, training and modernization in the judiciary and, most important, the promotion of and respect for all human rights. Peace-building also requires the acceptance of special treatment for societies that have recently overcome armed conflicts and that must reconstruct their basic infrastructure. This has special implications in terms of the participation of the international financial institutions and of their relationship with such countries. Let me conclude Costa Rica's contribution to this meeting by reaffirming our firm belief that it is vitally necessary to accept these concepts and to incorporate them in the agenda and practice of the United Nations, and of the Security Council in particular.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3954 (1998) · source
“Costa Rica wishes to put forward a few points as food for thought: Peace-building is a political concept within the broader perspective of the maintenance of international peace and security, although it can have specialized technical implications. Peace-building must be viewed from an integral perspective. In other words, it is illogical to make it unilateral or to reduce its content to one or several of its elements. Peace-building, as an integral and integrating concept, requires broad, multidisciplinary involvement by the international community. Peace-building requires the acceptance and inclusion of specific areas for action by multilateral organizations on questions that were once reserved for domestic jurisdiction with respect to bolstering the State based on the rule of law.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3954 (1998) · source
“Clearly, discussion of many of these matters is ongoing and continues to reflect divergent views on matters such as the role of the Security Council in this process and its links with other organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations system - although the differences in these views are narrowing. But my delegation considers that these very facts show that in the present circumstances it is illogical to insist on retaining limited and separate areas of competence for the various parts of the Organization and, above all, that there is no political sense in trying to circumscribe the concepts of international peace and security or to strip them of their meaning.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3954 (1998) · source
“That is one very important aspect of this new vision of peace-building. It is, in fact, a question that elicits varying opinions not only on basic matters but also on the operational implications for the United Nations. Some have expressed reasonable doubts in this connection, feeling that the peace-building stage, by its very nature and by transcending and overcoming purely military matters, has become something that has more to do with other areas of international action, such as development cooperation. From the traditional viewpoint in keeping with the old logic of the days before 1989, this is, strictly speaking, true. But a new vision of the concepts of international peace and security, such as that which we share, should enable us to agree to incorporate the post-conflict stage in this broader View of the question.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3954 (1998) · source
“The cases of Central America, Namibia, Cambodia, Mozambique and, most recently, the Central African Republic show how facilitation, good offices and mediation by international organizations and regional bodies have become effective tools for resolving conflicts and achieving solid, lasting peace agreements. Fifthly, the acknowledged need for comprehensive agreements containing specific solutions to the various problems that lie at the root of conflicts has given rise to a comprehensive and multidisciplinary involvement by the various elements of international organizations, notably the United Nations, and by non-governmental organizations, both in defining these responses and in participating actively in their implementation. Here, the experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina has become a benchmark.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3954 (1998) · source
“It may seem self-evident, but let me add that it is indispensable, once a ceasefire has been put in place, to ensure that agreements on structural matters are sustainable. Fourthly, the facts have shown that agreements comprising an integral response to today's international or national conflicts must include effective efforts at political and diplomatic negotiations. Peace does not emerge from nothing. Those same tough and valuable facts also point to the potential of resources for peaceful solutions as the ideal tools for conflict resolution. In that sphere, regional and multilateral organizations, since the end of the cold war, have proven to be the ideal forums for addressing and overcoming these crises.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3954 (1998) · source
“Secondly, Costa Rica has learned from its own regional experience that truly effective peace-building requires agreements and consensus among the parties to the conflict, and, although a ceasefire and demobilization are needed as a first step, must also include specific arrangements tailored to the various structural matters as well as to other issues - such as the existence of a State based on the rule of law, legal security and the enjoyment of human rights - which were at the root of the conflict. Here, we cannot fail to mention the experiences of El Salvador, Haiti and Guatemala, which have shown how fundamental the concept of an integral approach is to the achievement of a solid, lasting peace. The third element is closely linked to the first two: the existence of genuine commitment by the parties to the conflict is a sine qua non.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3954 (1998) · source
“It is true that although the underlying causes of a conflict go beyond the question of the war itself, the truth is that it is nearly impossible to move on to addressing those underlying causes if the armed struggle has not ceased and if the fate of combatants has not been determined. In other words, it is hard to imagine peace- building in isolation without the prior stages of negotiations - political or diplomatic, depending on the case - and of agreement on a ceasefire.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3954 (1998) · source
“In the light of this broad vision, therefore, the response of the international community to these new crises must incorporate the various aspects of the specific situations in a complete and multidisciplinary manner. In our view, it must address and resolve a number of particular factors. First of all, we must note that the concept of peace- building is part of a set of realities and a link in the long chain of the maintenance of international peace and security. Peace-building presupposes that in every case the military dimension of an armed conflict has already been resolved through a cessation of hostilities and the adoption of agreements on the demobilization of combatants.”
1998-12-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3954 (1998) · source